Questions? Suggestions? Found a bug? Please file an issue or start a discussion.

Configuration file format for build_runner builds.

• See also: build_yaml_format.md
• Dividing a package into build targets
• Configuring builders applied to your package
• Configuring builders globally
• Defining builders to apply to depenents
• Defining post process builders
• Adjusting builder ordering
• Triggers
• Publishing build.yaml files
• FAQ
  • How do I avoid running builders on unnecessary inputs?
  • How is the configuration for a builder resolved?
  • How can I include additional sources in my build?

See also: build_yaml_format.md

See also docs/build_yaml_format.md for a more technical description of the format.

Dividing a package into build targets

When a Builder should be applied to a subset of files in a package the package can be broken up into multiple 'targets'. Targets are configured in the targets section of the build.yaml. The key for each target makes up the name for that target. Targets can be referred to in '$definingPackageName:$targetname'. When the target name matches the package name it can also be referred to as just the package name. One target in every package must use the package name so that consumers will use it by default. In the build.yaml file this target can be defined with the key $default or with the name of the package.

Each target may also contain the following keys:

• sources: List of Strings or Map, Optional. The set of files within the package which make up this target. Files are specified using glob syntax. If a List of Strings is used they are considered the 'include' globs. If a Map is used can only have the keys include and exclude. Any file which matches any glob in include and no globs in exclude is considered a source of the target. When include is omitted every file is considered a match.
• dependencies: List of Strings, Optional. The targets that this target depends on. Strings in the format '$packageName:$targetName' to depend on a target within a package or $packageName to depend on a package's default target. By default this is all of the package names this package depends on (from the pubspec.yaml).
• builders: Map, Optional. See "configuring builders" below.

Configuring builders applied to your package

Each target can specify a builders key which configures the builders which are applied to that target. The value is a Map from builder to configuration for that builder. The key is in the format '$packageName:$builderName'. The configuration may have the following keys:

• enabled: Boolean, Optional: Whether to apply the builder to this target. Omit this key if you want the default behavior based on the builder's auto_apply configuration. Builders which are manually applied (auto_apply: none) are only ever used when there is a target specifying the builder with enabled: True.
• generate_for: List of String or Map, Optional:. The subset of files within the target's sources which should have this Builder applied. See sources configuration above for how to configure this.
• options: Map, Optional: A free-form map which will be passed to the Builder as a BuilderOptions when it is constructed. Usage varies depending on the particular builder. Values in this map will override the default provided by builder authors. Values may also be overridden based on the build mode with dev_options or release_options.
• dev_options: Map, Optional: A free-form map which will be passed to the Builder as a BuilderOptions when it is constructed. Usage varies depending on the particular builder. The values in this map override Builder defaults or non mode-specific options per-key when the build is done in dev mode.
• release_options: Map, Optional: A free-form map which will be passed to the Builder as a BuilderOptions when it is constructed. Usage varies depending on the particular builder. The values in this map override Builder defaults or non mode-specific options when the build is done in release mode.

Configuring builders globally

Target level builder options can be overridden globally across all packages with the global_options section. These options are applied after all Builder defaults and target level configuration, and before --define command line arguments.

• options: Map, Optional: A free-form map which will be passed to the Builder as a BuilderOptions when it is constructed. Usage varies depending on the particular builder. Values in this map will override the default provided by builder authors or at the target level. Values may also be overridden based on the build mode with dev_options or release_options.
• dev_options: Map, Optional: A free-form map which will be passed to the Builder as a BuilderOptions when it is constructed. Usage varies depending on the particular builder. The values in this map override all other values per-key when the build is done in dev mode.
• release_options: Map, Optional: A free-form map which will be passed to the Builder as a BuilderOptions when it is constructed. Usage varies depending on the particular builder. The values in this map override all other values per-key when the build is done in release mode.

Defining builders to apply to dependents

If users of your package need to apply some code generation to their package, then you can define Builders and have those applied to packages with a dependency on yours.

The key for a Builder will be normalized so that consumers of the builder can refer to it in '$definingPackageName:$builderName' format. If the builder name matches the package name it can also be referred to with just the package name.

Exposed Builders are configured in the builders section of the build.yaml. This is a map of builder names to configuration. Each builder config may contain the following keys:

• import: Required. The import uri that should be used to import the library containing the Builder class. This should always be a package: uri.
• builder_factories: A List<String> which contains the names of the top-level methods in the imported library which are a function fitting the typedef Builder factoryName(BuilderOptions options).
• build_extensions: Required. A map from input extension to the list of output extensions that may be created for that input. This must match the merged buildExtensions maps from each Builder in builder_factories.
• auto_apply: Optional. The packages which should have this builder automatically to applied. Defaults to 'none' The possibilities are:
  • "none": Never apply this Builder unless it is manually configured
  • "dependents": Apply this Builder to the package with a direct dependency on the package exposing the builder.
  • "all_packages": Apply this Builder to all packages in the transitive dependency graph.
  • "root_package": Apply this Builder only to the top-level package.
• required_inputs: Optional, see adjusting builder ordering
• runs_before: Optional, see adjusting builder ordering
• applies_builders: Optional, list of Builder keys. Specifies that other builders should be run on any target which will run this Builder.
• is_optional: Optional, boolean. Specifies whether a Builder can be run lazily, such that it won't execute until one of it's outputs is requested by a later Builder. This option should be rare. Defaults to False.
• build_to: Optional. The location that generated assets should be output to. The possibilities are:
  • "source": Outputs go to the source tree next to their primary inputs.
  • "cache": Outputs go to a hidden build cache and won't be published. The default is "cache". If a Builder specifies that it outputs to "source" it will never run on any package other than the root - but does not necessarily need to use the "root_package" value for "auto_apply". If it would otherwise run on a non-root package it will be filtered out.
• defaults: Optional: Default values to apply when a user does not specify the corresponding key in their builders section. May contain the following keys:
  • generate_for: A list of globs that this Builder should run on as a subset of the corresponding target, or a map with include and exclude lists of globs.
  • options: Arbitrary yaml map, provided as the config map in BuilderOptions to the BuilderFactory for this builder. Individual keys will be overridden by configuration provided in either dev_options or release_options based on the build mode, and then overridden by any user specified configuration.
  • dev_options: Arbitrary yaml map. Values will replace the defaults from options when the build is done in dev mode (the default mode).
  • release_options: Arbitrary yaml map. Values will replace the defaults from options when the build is done in release mode (with --release).

Example builders config:

builders:
  my_builder:
    import: "package:my_package/builder.dart"
    builder_factories: ["myBuilder"]
    build_extensions: {".dart": [".my_package.dart"]}
    auto_apply: dependents
    defaults:
      release_options:
        some_key: "Some value the users will want in release mode"

Defining post process builders

PostProcessBuilders are configured similarly to normal Builders, but they have some different/missing options.

These builders can not be auto-applied on their own, and must always build to cache because their outputs are not declared ahead of time. To apply them a user will need to explicitly enable them on a target, or a Builder definition can add them to apply_builders.

Exposed PostProcessBuilders are configured in the post_process_builders section of the build.yaml. This is a map of builder names to configuration. Each post process builder config may contain the following keys:

• import: Required. The import uri that should be used to import the library containing the Builder class. This should always be a package: uri.
• builder_factory: A String which contains the name of the top-level method in the imported library which is a function fitting the typedef PostProcessBuilder factoryName(BuilderOptions options).
• input_extensions: Required. A list of input extensions that will be processed. This must match the inputExtensions from the PostProcessBuilder returned by the builder_factory.
• defaults: Optional: Default values to apply when a user does not specify the corresponding key in their builders section. May contain the following keys:
  • generate_for: A list of globs that this Builder should run on as a subset of the corresponding target, or a map with include and exclude lists of globs.

Example config with a normal builder which auto-applies a post_process_builder:

builders:
  # The regular builder config, creates `.tar.gz` files.
  regular_builder:
    import: "package:my_package/builder.dart"
    builder_factories: ["myBuilder"]
    build_extensions: {".dart": [".tar.gz"]}
    auto_apply: dependents
    apply_builders: [":archive_extract_builder"]
post_process_builders:
  # The post process builder config, extracts `.tar.gz` files.
  extract_archive_builder:
    import: "package:my_package/extract_archive_builder.dart"
    builder_factory: "myExtractArchiveBuilder"
    input_extensions: [".tar.gz"]

Adjusting builder ordering

Both required_inputs and runs_before can be used to tweak the order that Builders run in on a given target. These work by indicating a given builder is a dependency of another. The resulting dependency graph must not have cycles and these options should be used rarely.

• required_inputs: Optional, list of extensions, defaults to empty list. If a Builder must see every input with one or more file extensions they can be specified here and it will be guaranteed to run after any Builder which might produce an output of that type. For instance a compiler must run after any Builder which can produce .dart outputs or those libraries can't be compiled. A Builder may not specify that it requires an output that it also produces since this would be a self-cycle.
• runs_before: Optional, list of Builder keys. If a Builder is producing outputs which are intended to be inputs to other Builders they may be specified here. This guarantees that the specified Builders will be ordered later than this one. This will not cause Builders to be applied if they would not otherwise run, it only affects ordering. If a builder emits files that should always be the input to another specific builder, use both runs_before and applies_builder to configure both ordering and ensure that steps are not skipped.

Triggers

Triggers are a performance heuristic that allow builders to quickly decide not to run.

A builder runs only if triggered if the option run_only_if_triggered is true. This can be enabled for the builder:

builders:
  my_builder:
    import: "package:my_package/builder.dart"
    builder_factories: ["myBuilder"]
    build_extensions: {".dart": [".my_package.dart"]}
    defaults:
      options:
        run_only_if_triggered: true

Or, enabled/disabled in the build.yaml of the package applying the builder:

targets:
  $default:
    builders:
      my_package:my_builder:
        options:
          run_only_if_triggered: true # or `false`

Triggers are defined in a new top-level section called triggers:

triggers:
  my_package:my_builder:
    - annotation MyAnnotation
    - import my_package/my_builder_annotation.dart

An annotation trigger causes the builder to run if an annotation is used. So, - annotation MyAnnotation is a check for @MyAnnotation being used. A part file included from a library is also checked for the annotation.

An import trigger says that the builder runs if there is a direct import of the specified library. This might be useful if a builder can run on code without annotations, for example on all classes that implement a particular type. Then, the import of the type used to trigger generation can be the trigger.

Only one trigger has to match for the builder to run; adding more triggers can never prevent a builder from running. So, a builder usually only needs either an import trigger or an annotation trigger, not both.

Triggers are collected from all packages in the codebase, not just packages defining or applying builders. This allows a package to provide new ways to trigger a builder from an unrelated package. For example, if third_party_package re-exports the annotation in package:my_package/my_builder_annotation.dart then it should also add a trigger:

triggers:
  my_package:my_builder:
    - import third_party_package/annotations.dart

Or, if third_party_package defines a new constant NewAnnotation that can be used as an annotation for my_builder, it should add a trigger:

triggers:
  my_package:my_builder:
    - annotation NewAnnotation

Publishing build.yaml files

build.yaml configuration should be published to pub with the package and checked in to source control. Whenever a package is published with a build.yaml it should mark a dependency on build_config to ensure that the package consuming the config has a compatible version. Breaking version changes which do not impact the configuration file format will be clearly marked in the changelog.

FAQ

How do I avoid running builders on unnecessary inputs?

You can skip unnecessary inputs and so speed up your build using the generate_for option of the builder:

targets:
  $default:
    builders:
      # Typically the builder key is just the package name, run
      # `dart run build_runner doctor` to check your config.
      <builder-key>:
        generate_for:
          # Example glob for only the Dart files under `lib/models`
          - lib/models/*.dart

How is the configuration for a builder resolved?

Builders are constructed with a map of options which is resolved from the builder specified defaults and user overrides. The configuration is specific to a target and build mode. The configuration is "merged" one by one, where the higher precedence configuration overrides values by String key. The order of precedence from lowest to highest is:

• Builder defaults without a mode.
• Builder defaults by mode.
• Target configuration without a mode.
• Target configuration by mode.
• Global options without a mode.
• Global options by mode.
• Options specified on the command line.

For example:

builders:
  some_builder:
    # Some required fields omitted
    defaults:
      options:
        some_option: "Priority 0"
      release_options:
        some_option: "Priority 1"
      dev_options:
        some_option: "Priority 1"
targets:
  $default:
    builders:
      some_package:some_builder:
        options:
          some_option: "Priority 2"
        release_options:
          some_option: "Priority 3"
        dev_options:
          some_option: "Priority 3"

global_options:
  some_package:some_builder:
    options:
      some_option: "Priority 4"
    release_options:
      some_option: "Priority 5"
    dev_options:
      some_option: "Priority 5"

And when running the build:

dart run build_runner build --define=some_package:some_builder=some_option="Priority 6"

How can I include additional sources in my build?

The build_runner package defaults the included source files to directories derived from the package layout conventions.

If you have additional files which you would like to be included as part of the build, you can do that with the sources field on the $default target:

targets:
  $default:
    sources:
      - my_custom_sources/**
      - lib/**
      - web/**
      # Note that it is important to include these in the default target.
      - pubspec.*
      - $package$